Man arrested trying to climb Buckingham Palace wall

Members of the Coldstream Guards march out from Buckingham Palace towards St James's Palace, during a changing of the guard ceremony in London. Picture: Alastair Grant/AP

London - British police on Monday said
they had arrested a man who tried to climb a wall at Queen
Elizabeth's Buckingham Palace home in central London, but said
that the incident was not terrorism-related.

The 24-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of trespass on
Sunday evening, three minutes after he stepped over a low outer
perimeter fence near the palace, the Metropolitan Police said.

"The man was not found in possession of any offensive
weapons and the incident is not being treated as terrorist
related," police said in a statement.

He has been released on conditional bail and has undergone a
mental health assessment.

British police are on high alert after five attacks blamed
on terrorism this year. In August, a man wielding a sword
outside the palace was charged under terrorism laws. Three
police officers suffered minor injuries detaining him.

A number of people have tried to get into the palace grounds
in recent years. A woman was arrested in October for attempting
to scale the gates of the palace.

In May 2016, a man with a conviction for murder climbed over
the wall and walked for about 10 minutes around the grounds of
the palace before being arrested. He was jailed for four months.

Four years ago, a man armed with a knife tried to enter
through a gate and was later jailed for 16 months. A month
earlier, two men were arrested following a break-in at the
palace.

One of the biggest security breaches at Buckingham Palace
happened in 1982 when an intruder, Michael Fagan, climbed a wall
and wandered into a room where the queen was in bed.